PROSPECTS Meanwhile, Down on the Farm

Great to see them come alive at the end. First seven innings were boring. Other than Ehrhard the offense was dead. Sheehan struggled with control early giving up a run in each of first two innings, then settled into a nice rhythm. Went 5.1 innings (Dodgers mandate was 90 pitches whether he was on or off to keep him extended). Team down 0-2 in the eighth. That's when Tibbs walked, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on a Sirota single. Mike then scored on a double by Ryan Fitzgerald. Game stayed tied through the 9th. In the 10th, JDP was the ghost runner. Nationals closer from earlier in the season, Clayton Beeter, came in. Tibbs and Sirota walked, and Alek Thomas hit a bases-clearing double. Halverson pitched the bottom of the inning for the save but was helped greatly by a Kim to Miller to Tibbs DP.

By the way, Thomas also made an incredible diving catch in center. I'll reiterate that Miller is so smooth at short. He makes every play look routine and fires bullets to first that are pinpoint accurate. But if he could only hit, he just flails at the plate.

JDP only had one routine fly in LF which he shagged easily. Wasn't his day at the plate. 0-4 and a walk. I will say he busted his ass down the line on a GIDP so he can hustle.

Ehrhard is so locked in right now. High note to take into the off-season. I'd hate to see him go, but if the Dodgers want to sell high on him, now's the time.

Surprisingly, Freeland didn't get in the game.

 

Just to close out the Dodgers minor league season awards, unfortunately there was no MVP from the Comets. However, Tibbs, Romero (pitcher) and Halvorsen were selected to the AS game, bringing the organization's total to 15 over the four levels.

 

Here’s part 2 of my year-end prospect-review.

Green means the player progressed during the year. Yellow means no progression, no regression. Red means he regressed.



16. Cam Leiter, P, A+/A. Really strong debut season for the ’25 second round pick. 18 games for Ontario where he was managed to just 2.5 innings per start – 3.09 ERA. Then moved up to Great Lakes and in 3 starts was closer to 4 innings per. 11.1 innings there, no earned runs, 0.88 WHIP, .154 BA against, and 3.5:1 K/BB ratio. Overall 80 K’s in 55 innings. Would be really cool to see him keep progressing and eventually becoming the most impactful of the five Leiters.

17. Jackson Ferris, P, AAA. I wish I could give him a green based on how he ended his season, but taken as a whole, he did not progress. In fact, he was downgraded on the rankings from single digits to #17. Overall he had a 5.12 ERA and 1.48 WHIP at OKC – not good. But what is great is how he finished. Last six starts: 36 innings, 4 ERs, 48 K’s vs only 11 walks, 0.92 WHIP, 1.00 ERA. He finished strong last year too. Let’s hope next season he picks up where he left off.

18. Jaron Elkins, OF, A+/A. After two good-but-not-great seasons following his ’23 draft selection, he figured out the magic formula this year. An All-Star in the Cal League, he hit .339 with an OPS of 1.005 in 286 ABs. In fact, he was the league batting leader when he got called up to high-A. Didn’t do quite as well there, but given others (like Quintero and Morales) needing an adjustment period in this league, I’m optimistic that the 21-year-old can find success in ’27.

19. Logan Wagner, 3B, AA/A+. I suspect Wagner will always be a low-average guy, and for that I considered labeling him yellow. But his power numbers really popped this year, and not only did he get added to the Top-30, they moved him straight past the 20’s, so that’s progression. 25 doubles and 22 HRs were career highs, as was his .503 SLG. Batting average did increase from .216 the previous season to .244. Would be great if he can get that up higher next year.


(side note: Ryan Ward was #20, but now that he’s no longer with the organization, everyone moves up one)


20. Aidan Foeller, P, AA/A+. Another name added midseason. He had a great WHIP (1.01) at Great Lakes but his ERA was 3.46. Got promoted to Tulsa where his WHIP went up (1.40) but his ERA came down (1.57) – go figure. But 2.81 ERA overall and 100 K’s vs 33 BBs over 83.1 innings is a solid season. Age 24 now having been drafted out of college in 2024, so hopefully we see him up at OKC sometime next year.

21. Elijah Hainline, SS, AA. Spent the whole season at Tulsa. His numbers aren’t terrible – 16 doubles, 13 home runs, .245 batting average .784 OPS. But they also don’t really impress, and with a gold-glove caliber SS ahead of him in OKC (Miller) and three offensive-minded shortstops (Morales, Lindsey, Vargas) behind him and needing room to progress, I suspect he’s not long in the organization… and probably on his way off this list.

22. Nico Perez, 2B, A+. Having tracked him some earlier in the season, I was happy to see him get added to the Top-30 midseason. His numbers came down a little at season’s end, but overall he hit .272 with an OPS of .828. Legged out 17 doubles and 5 triples to go with 9 round-trippers. His 37 stolen bases vs only 6 times caught was also a positive. Late draft pick (’22 15th round), so he’s 22 now and needs to keep progressing as age will become a factor if he stalls.

23. Sterling Patick, P, A+. ERA (5.35) and WHIP (1.58) were career highs. He gives up over a hit per inning. Actually, in three seasons he’s never finished with an ERA under 4.00, and he was drafted 550 overall in ’23, so I’m not sure what he’s even doing on this list.

24. Jacob Kmatz, P, AA. After coming over with Feduccia at the trade deadline, he pitched 18.2 innings out of Tulsa’s pen. Struck out 25 and only walked 3. ERA of 2.41, WHIP of 1.07, stats which would have been lower if not surrendering 2 HRs in his last appearance. He’s 24, so I expect him to be in OKC early next year and if his numbers stay low, up with the Dodgers later in the year.

25. Noah Miller, SS, AAA. I’m reluctantly labeling his season green, because he set personal highs across the board offensively (albeit the bar was set low). First time he hit double-digit HRs with 12, and first time OPS (.719) was over .700. Impressively, he notched 9 triples. We still have to discount his numbers since the PCL is a hitter’s league, so you have to wonder how his .254 batting average translates to MLB. As always though, his glove is a major plus.

26. Marlon Nieves, P, A. 2025 was a good year, 2026 was not. Dealt with injuries but still started 16 games, during which he posted a 5.09 ERA and 1.66 WHIP. 3-to-2 K:BB ratio ain’t gonna cut it.

27. Aidan West, SS, A/Rookie. The ’25 fourth round pick made his debut, playing 20 games in the Arizona rookie league and 14 for low-A Ontario. For the most part his playing time seemed to be managed down, having only 124 ABs combined. But he had a 1.009 OPS in the rookie league, and still batted .291/.710 at Ontario. A positive start for the 19-year-old, and assuming Lindsey and/or Vargas get bumped up in ’27, he could be full time SS for the Tower Buzzers.

28. Brooks Auger, P, A+. Picked in the 6th round of ’24. Last season was mediocre, but this year showed improvement. Played in high-A the whole year and had a 3.62 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. 85 K’s in only 59.2 innings is good, but he’s got to get the other numbers down more, especially because if he goes to AA, he’s moving into a hitter’s league. Age 24 already, so he needs to not stall.

29. Eduardo Rojas, C, A. I honestly don’t know what he’s doing here, maybe they just wanted a catcher on the list, lol. Played almost the whole season in the Dominican rookie league, where he hit 4 doubles and 1 HR. High average at .342, but everyone hits in this league. Head scratcher for me -- we’ll see what next year holds in store.

30. Easton Shelton, 1B, A. Heyyyyyyyyy, they let the Cal League MVP join the party (taking the spot opened by Ward’s departure)! Phenomenal offensive year, capped by 37 home runs, 112 RBIs, and a 1.047 OPS. Pretty damn good for an undrafted walk-on. But as we’ve said before, the K’s have to come down… finished the season striking out in 33.5% of his plate appearances.


Glad to see Shelton make the list, and in my opinion Martinus, Vargas, Tyler Gough and Caleb Johnson deserve spots, while I think Hainline, Patick, Nieves, and Rojas don’t.

 

The Arizona Fall League has begun, and Dodger prospects are already making an impact. Sounds like the early impression is that Davalan has sticking potential at 2B. You know my feeling on that -- if successful the move allows the Dodgers to eventually place more of their top prospects on the major league roster.

https://dodgersdigest.com/2026/10/0...s-long-awaited-debut-foxs-perfect-frame-more/

 

While I like the sentiment, two things. 1) Dodgers are locked in on some hefty contracts that make this prohibitive. 2) OD 2028 is more realistic from the standpoint of prospects being ready (remember, it was an anomaly for the Dodgers to have JDP completely skip AAA).

Man, it would be a win-win-win if Tucker magically has a bounce-back year in 2027 and his agent convinces him that he could still get one more max contract extending past his two remaining years if he opts out. Pipe dream, maybe, but I'm not letting go of that possibility. If his numbers are like this year's, Dodgers have no choice but to eat contract. They have too much potential in the minors at risk.